CD Reviews

Serious Music for the Serious Listener

Patrick Small | Washington, DC USA | 12/17/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Lassigue Bendthaus, aka Uwe Schmidt, was the progenitor of a sound rarely heard in the early days of electronic EBM. The original KK Records release date - closer to 1991 (the first single "Automotive" released in 1990 on Parade Amoureuse), makes Uwe's unique "sound" unbelievably ahead of its time. My first inkling of Uwe as Lassigue Bendthaus was the "Static" remix by the DJ service Razormaid back in 1991 and the "Automotive" 2nd Edit on the original Technoclub compilation in 1990. Suffice to say, Uwe in the LB incarnation [because there are NUMEROUS techno, ambient, and experimental incarnations (Atom Heart, Atomu Shinzou, and Lisa Carbon to name three) and collaborations (Pink Elln and Victor Sol to name a couple) AND at one point having his own label - Rather Interesting] has ALWAYS trancended the boundaries of convention. "Matter" to me is pure intelligence, sometimes bordering on industrial with the teutonic vocals and the clinking/clanking of percussion, sometimes inorganic with his trademark rolling bass and bass drums. I would describe "Matter" not so much as dark, but rather very serious music with very serious themes (unlike Kraftwerk). There are no love songs here, only discussion of biology (experiential perception)/architecture/movement (and acceleration)...all reduced/acknowledged at the quantum level (as evidenced by the cover photo and CD title). As with later LB releases "Cloned" and "Render" there is an undertone of technology throughout. The tracks are mid-tempo, each one evolving, and although they could be construed as minimalist, there are incredible methodical layers of complexity - certainly missing from his early EBM contemporaries and rare even today. Uwe's advanced programming and production are only proceeded by his very humble nature. Artistically speaking, I get frustrated when people compare early LB (pre- "Pop Artificielle") to Haujobb. Although Haujobb is not afraid to express their personal beyond, I find they pale in comparison. I find Uwe's music is more structured (chorus and verse - although somewhat abstract), and his songs appear more complete than the collage of sounds that Haujobb or any Myer side project has put forth (save for Cleen's "Designed Memories" and "The Voice" CDS). As for saying that any Metropolis Records release is similar, that's like saying any car is like a Porche. Having listened to electronic music since 1984 (making me somewhat of an authority), I would say the closest comparisons to early LB are the UK's Clock DVA (circa. 1990 + but not including "Sign"), Mexico's Artefakto ("Tierra Electrica" and "Interruptor" CDs), Croatia's Implant Code ("Biodigit" MCD) and their Principia Audiomatica project ("Systematic Sonority" CD), the UK's Lagowski ("Prismatic" CD only - for which Uwe did the artwork), Greece's Neural Network ("Kinesthetics" CD - minimalist LB), Germany's Paracont ("Zoom" CD only - like a cross between LB and Klinik), Germany's Pornotanz ("Cysex" CDS by Olaf Finkbeiner - with assitance from Uwe), and Germany's Time Modem ("Transforming Tune" CD only). On a final note, although Uwe has moved very far from his industrial/EBM roots (now residing in Santiago, Chile to work on his virtual "Senor Coconut" project) his legacy lives on in his timeless music. To quote Magneto, "He will always be a god among insects.""